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R.,L. 8v H. 1:". WIGHT.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

GAN LABELING MACHINE.

No. 474,618. Patented May 10, 1892.

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3 Sheets- Sheet 2.

Patented May 10.1892.

(No Model.)

l R. L. 8u H. F. WIGHT. GAN LABELING MACHINE. No; 474,618.

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WIWI-:5555 -wez 3 Sheets--Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

R. L. sa H. P. WIGHT. GAN LABELING MACHINE.

Patented May 10, 1892.

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In: Noam Ferias e A resents an enlarged section on line G 6, Fig.

beds a may be constructed andarranged to operate as shown in said patent, and the niTTEn STATES PATENT Enron.

RONELL L. VIGI'IT, OF BRIDGTON, MAINE, AND HENRY F. VIGI-IT, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM M. MCDONALD, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAN-LABELING MACHINE.

l SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed January 4, 1892.

To all whom, t may concern,.- i

Beit known that we, RONELL L. WIGHT, of Bridgton, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, and HENRY F. WIGHT, of Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can Labeling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improvement on the machine shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 463,607, dated November 17, 1891, and relates particularly to the means for moving or feeding the cans across the label-supporting beds shown in said patent, the object of the invention being to control the cans and insure their uniform rotation when they are passing across the said beds and taking up the labels therefrom.

The invention consists in the several improvements which we will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l represents a top view of a can-labeling machine provided with ourimprovements. Fig. 2 represents an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents a similar elevation of a portion of thejmachine, showing the operation of the devices that present the cans to the feeding and rotating devices. Fig. 4t represents an end elevation of a part of the machine, portions of the framework being broken away and the can and label-supportin g devices being shown in section. Fig. 5 represents an end elevation of the construction shown in Fig. et. Fig. 6rep- 4, looking toward the right. Fig. lL represents a section on line la l, Fig. l.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a a represent a series of flat beds or label-carriers, which are secured to the links of sprocket-chains b b, and are supported` by sprocket-wheels c c, engaged with said chains, substantially as shown in the Letters Patent above mentioned. The

Patent N0.4'74,618, dated May 10, 1892.

Serial No. 416,988. (No model.)

meansfor operating them mayalso be as shown in said patent, our present invention relating, chieiiy, to the means for feeding and rolling the cans across said beds. We therefore do not describe in detail the mechanism for moving the label-supporting beds, but refer to said Letters Patent for a full description of the beds and their operating mechanism, it being sufficient to here remark that the series of beds are moved progressively step by step and that each bed is held stationary at the point where the cans are rolled over it by our improved kcan feeding and rolling devices hereinafter described long enough for a can to be moved across said bed at right angles to the direction of its movementand to take up a gummed label resting upon the bed.

d represents an inclined spout or chute, down which the cans e to be labeled are carried by gravitation, said chute being arranged to present the cans to the point where they are raised by the separating devices hereinafter described into engagementwith the feeding and rotating devices.

The can feedingand rotating devices comprise two iiexible bands or sprocket-chains ff, mounted on wheels g g, which are supported by shafts f f4, mounted in iixed bearings onk the supporting-frame, the shaft f4 being positively rotated by any suitable meanssuch as a sprocket-wheel la running from a wheel on a driving-shaft 't' to a wheel j,afiiXed to the shaft f4, the shaft t' beinghere shown as driven by a gearing connecting it to a shaft 7o, which receives motion through a belt m from a suitable source of power. The chains f f are provided with can-engaging devices, which are pulleys or trucks n n, mounted on rods or shafts fn. fn', which are suitably secured to the bands or chains f f, each rod n extending from one chain to the other across the space between the two chains. The pulleys n n are adapted to rotate loosely, either by being loosely mounted upon the rods n or by the loose mounting of said rods in bearings f2 f2, Fig. 5, afixed to the chains f. The pulleys n are arranged in pairs, each pair of pulleys `on one chain and the corresponding pair on the other chain constituting one set of can-grasping or engaging devices, said pulleys being spaced so that they will bear upon the upper portion of a can in a manner shown in Figs. 2 and 4L when the pulleys are being moved horizontally by the chains and are at the lower portions of the chains and moving across the beds a. The chains f are arranged-at such height as to hold the pulleys n in engagement with a can that is resting upon one of the beds a, so that when a can is engaged with a set ot' pulleys the movement of the chains in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and t will cause the pulleys to move the can positively across the bed, which is under the chains, the loosely-rotating pulleys at the same time permitting the free rotation of the can caused by its contact with the bed under it and preventing the can from slipping along the bed without rotating.

It will be seen that the-sprocket-chains engaged with the positively-rotated'wheel g and driven by said wheel and provided with the can-engaging pulleys are adapted to positively feed the cans forward across the beds and insure their free rotation, thus' insuring the propertaking up by each can of a gummed label resting upon the bed over which the can is being moved.

The can-separating devices, which separate the lowest can in the chute d from the procession of cans and present it to the chains ff and their pulleys, are preferably as follows:

o representsan arm affixed vto a rock-shaft o2, which is journaled in fixed bearings on the supporting-fram e. The arm ois provided with an upwardly-projecting finger o at its outer end, which is arranged to be inserted behind the lowest can on the chute and to lift said can from the chute overa fixed stop or finger o3, secured to the supporting-frame, said stop or finger co-operating with the finger o in raising the can from the chute. The rock-shaft 02 is oscillated by means of acrank 04, affixed to the shaft f', a connecting-rod o5, engaged at one end Withthewrist-pin of said cranlgand an arm o6, affixed to the rock-shaft o2 and engaged with the opposite end of said connecting-rod. The connecting-rod is provided with a slot 0'7, which receives the wrist-pin of the crank and permits considerable freedom of movement of said wrist-pin independently of the connecting-rod. `When the crank in its revolution reaches the lower end of the slot 07', the crank revolving as indicated by the arrows in Figs; 2 and 3, it depresses the rod 05, and thereby, through the arm o and rockshaft o2, raises the finger o', causing the latter to elevate the lowest can. The mechanism is timed so that a set of pulleys n is in vposition to engage the raised can, as shown in Fig. 3, so that after the can has been raised it is engaged by a set of pulleys and caused by the latter to pass over the stop or finger 03 and move downwardly upon the label-supporting bed a. The finger o remains elevated vand serves to arrest the procession of cans in the chute until the revolution of the crank causes its wrist-piu to strike the upper end of the slot o7, this occurring during the upward movement of the wrist-pin, so that the connecting-rod is raised and the finger o is depressed to the position shown in Fig. 2, thus permitting the procession of cans to move forward and the lowest can to strike the finger or stop 03said can being then in position to be raised by the next upward movement of the finger 0.

We prefer to employ pressure-bars q q, arranged to exert a downward yielding pressure upon the pulleys n n when said pulleys are engaged with a can and are rolling the same l across one of the beds d, thus making the rotation of each can by frictional contact with the bed and label more positive and certain.

Said pressure-bars q are engaged with the supporting-frame in such manner as that they can rise and fall, the means of engagement here shown being bolts q q', passing through Jslots q2 q2 in ears formed on the ybars q, as

shown in` Fig. 4, said slots permitting the bars to move vertically to a sufficient extent. The bars are pressed downwardly by means of springs fr r, interposed between fixed ears or brackets r, attached to the supporting-frame and fianges g3, formed on the pressure-bars q.

`The'pulley-supporting rods n are provided at their outer ends with smaller pulleys n3, which bear upon the under sides of the flanges qs, said flanges being `caused by the springs r to exert a downward pressure ou the pulleys n3 and through the latter and the rods n on the can-engaging pulleys n. The pressurebars q are of sufficient length to exert downward pressure upon the cans from the time of their first contact with the labels until they have left the beds and have passed from or well along upon the tables, which is arranged besidethe series of beds to receive each can after the label has been applied thereto.

The labels are kept in place upon the beds a by means of earst t, att-ached to the ends ot the beds and projecting forward above the label-supporting surfaces of the beds at opposite edges of the same, said ears constituting stops to prevent the labels from slipping laterally off from the beds. The earst do not positively hold the labels down upon the'beds and offer no resistance to the lifting of the labels from the beds. 'llo prevent the displacement of the labels by the gumming devices, which are arranged to operate substantially as shown in the patent above described, we provide a clamping or holding device ar- IOC IIO

ranged to bear on the central portion of the this case, however, we have provided a clamp,

which is alternately raised and lowered, and

is pressed downwardly upon the label while the same is being gummed and raised from the label to permit the unobstructed foi-ward movement of the label to the point where the can is presented to it. Said clamping device is here shown as an elastic arm u, attached to the outer end of a lever u', which is pivoted at u8 to the supporting-frame and at u2 to a' link u, which in turn is pivoted to an arm u?, attached to the rock-shaft 02, the arrangement being such that when the rock-shaft is in the position shown in Fig. 2 the arm u is raised and separated from the labelsnpporting bed under it; but when the rock-shaft is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3 the arm u is depressed and caused to bear forcibly upon a label.

l/Ve do not limit ourselves to the details of mechanism herein shown and described, and may variously modify the same. For example, bands or belts may be substituted for the sprocket-chains, in which case pulleys would be substituted for the sprocket-wheels g g. W'e prefer the chains and sprocket-wheels, however, on account of the posit-ive character of the movement imparted by them to the cans, the sprocket-chains being free from the liability to slip, which would exist if belts and ordinary pulleys were employed. Instead of the loosely-rotating pulleys n n on the belts or chains, non-rotating enlargements or projections may be employed, arranged to engage the cans in the manner shown and to cause the progressive movement of the cans. We prefer the pulleys, however, because of the freedom of rotation of the cans which they permit. The means for applying yielding pressure to the acting portions of the bands or chains may be omitted, and the elasticity of said bands or chains may be relied uponl to press the cans downwardly upon the labels; but we prefer the pressure devices on account of the uniformity of pressure which they give along the entire path through which the cans are fed and rotated.

It is obvious that any other suitable means besides those here shown may be employed for separating the cans at the bottom of the chute and for presenting the lowest can to the feeding and rotatingdevices.

To aid the operator in placing the labels upon the beds a c, we have provided the devices shown in Figs. 1 and la. Said devices comprise a table y, adapted to support an ac'- cumulation of labels y', and fingers e z a', preferably of thin sheet metal, attached to the table y and projecting from vthe inner edge thereof. The iingersz z are offset from the table, so that they occupy a lower plane conlining earst if to pass between the finger z and the fingers c a', said ears projecting above the upper surfaces of said fingers and engaging the edges of labels laid thereon when the beds are moving forward. The operator, taking a label from the table y, drops it upon the fingers z z" While the beds are at rest, the ears tt of the bed under the fingers being at this time at opposite ends of said fingers, as shown in Fig. l. lVhen the beds start forward, the rear fingers 25 engage the rear edge of the label and move the same forward, causing the label to assume the proper position upon the bed. It will be observed that the operator does not have to take any special care to place the label so that its edges will be parallel with the edges of the bed, and is only required to place the ends of the label against fixed gages z2 a2, located beside the lingers z e. Said fixed gages are preferably beveled at their inner edges, so that the labels dropped by the operator upon the fingers will readily assume the proper longitudinal position between the gages. After the label has been dropped upon the lingers z z the ears t at the rear edge of the bed under said fingers pass through the spaces between the fingers .c a and catch the rear edge of the label, pushing it forward and causing it to assume a position parallel'with the edges of the bed.

The cans are prevented from moving endwise while rolling across the label-beds by guides w w, Figs. 4 and 5, attached to the supporting-frame and arranged in close proximity to the ends of the cans.

We claiml. ln a can-labeling machine, the combination, with means for moving a series of labels progressively step by step, of can feeding and rolling devices comprising iiexible chains or bands, means for supporting and impelling the same, and can-engaging trucks or pulleys carried by said chains or bands and arranged to move a can progressively and permit its free rotation, said chains or bands being arranged with their acting portions substantially parallel with the labels and extending substantially at a right angle to the direction of movement of the labels, as set forth. l

2. In a can-labeling machine, the combination of means for moving a series of labels progressively step by step, the flexible chains or bands supported and driven by wheels or pulleys above the labels, can engaging devices carried by said chains, and pressurebars adapted to exert a downward yielding pressure on the acting portions of said chains and on the can-engaging devices thereon, as set forth.

3. In a can-labeling machine, the coinbination of means for moving a series of labels progressively step by step, belts or chains carrying laterally-extending rods or shafts having can-engaging pulleys, and movable pressure-bars arranged to exert downward pressure on said shafts, as set forth.

IOO

IIO

4:. In a can-labeling machine, the combination of means for moving al series of labels progressively step by step, belts or chains carrying laterally-extending rods or shafts having can-engaging pulleys, vertically-movable pressure-bars having flanges arranged to bear on the pulleys on said shafts, and springs arranged to exert downward pressure on said bars, as set forth.

5. In a can-labeling machine, the combination of means for moving a series of labels progressively step by step, belts or chains carrying laterally-extending rods or shafts having can-engaging pulleys, a canchute arranged to guide cans to a point contiguous to said belts or chains, oscillating fingers arranged to separate the lowest can from the procession of cansin the chute, and fixed stops or fingers arranged to co-operate with said oscillating fingers in raising the said can into engagement with the said pulleys, as set forth.

G. The combination of the series of labelsupporting beds having upwardly-projecting label-engaging ears at their edges, the labelsupporting table located above the plane of said beds, and the label-supporting fingers 10- cated below and at one side of said table, said fingers being separated by spaces which permit the passage of said ears between the fingers, as set forth.

7. The combination of the series of labelsupporting beds having upwardly-projecting label-engaging ears at their edges, the labelsupporting table located above the plane of said beds, the label-supporting fingers located below and at one side of said table, and the label-gages located at opposite ends of the series of fingers, as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specificatiomin the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 22d day of December, A. D. 1891.

RONELL L. VVIGHT. HENRY F. VIGHT.

Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON. 

